


DA idea one-shots, a collection

by CathyFowl



Series: Thedosian Works In Progress [11]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blight Wolf, Dark and Stormy Night cliché, Implied/Referenced Abuse, One Shot, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Red Lyrium, Red Templars, Seer, Spirits, excessive quoting of Cole, probably, that's not how dimensional travel works, that's not how seers work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-08-28 03:59:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8431075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CathyFowl/pseuds/CathyFowl
Summary: These are some of the many, many, MANY ideas I have for Dragon Age fanfics. I'll probably never finish these tho, but I wanted to show them to someone. Please enjoy, and let me know if they're worth making into a full story.





	1. Spirit Girl to the Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Inquisitor made a choice. What happens when a spirit answers the pleas for help of those left behind.

**Spirit Girl to the Rescue**

 

 

_We can't hold much longer... Maker help us. Andraste, save us!_

There’s pain and desperation and death and horror and... Red. So much red...

_I can't help them... Must warn... they're coming to kill you..._

A familiar voice. And more echo the desperation and helplessness.

So she moves, she acts and she steps through.

 

***

 

She comes out of nowhere, suddenly between Barris and the crazed templar, catching the sword, that was coming for his throat, with her bare hand.

"Hello~" she coos - COOS! - and with a tightening of her grip, she shatters the blade. Another grin and she has the red-eyed man's broken sword and the next moment it's buried in its owner's chest. Barris is watching from the ground, where he had fallen, as his would be murderer crumples, dead.

The girl swirls around and looks at Barris with her head cocked to one side. Suddenly, recognition lights her eyes and she thrusts her hand toward him.

"Barris! So good to catch you alive!" She says, full of joy and enthusiasm, as if she hadn't just gutted a man in cold blood.

"Who are you?" Barris asks.

"No time, gotta rescue the Lieutenants before it's too late," she chirps, then pulls her hand away with a frown. "You haven't drunk any of the red stuff yet, have you?"

Barris shakes his head no, and her hand is out again, her grin returning, but she doesn't wait for him to accept the help, instead she grabs him and hauls him onto his feet with strength that should not come from such a tiny person.

"This'll feel weird, try not to get sick," she says, her grip on his wrist tightening, and there's a sensation, like stepping through a wall of ice and the next thing he knows, they're up on a parapet, near one of the Lieutenants, who's fighting for her life against two of those strange red templars.

"To the rescue!" she cries out cheerfully and drawing the attention of the Reds. She hunches forward then suddenly throws her arms wide, and to Barris' shock, she lets loose an Energy Barrage. Cold spikes of ice rain down on the red templars, somehow completely missing the terrified lieutenant.

"You're a mage!" the woman stammers as the girl flits - no, Fade steps! - around and finishes off the reds.

"Me? A mage? Na-ah," she play-acts to be hurt by the accusation. As she opens her mouth to explain, a young man in a wide brimmed hat appears right beside her. Out of nowhere.

"Love hears the cry for help. She cannot sit by and not act. Lives are saved, the day will be won," he says from behind his hat, before looking at the girl and smiling. "Thank you for helping."

"Always, for Compassion, always!" She stretches up and kisses the boys cheek, then giggles and she's off again.

Before the day is out, most of the templars who hadn't drunk from the red lyrium, have escaped and managed to lose their pursuers in the Fallow Mire. The strange girl leads them toward the Inquisition, the boy has disappeared. 'Gone ahead', or so the girl says.

Barris is only glad to be alive.

 

***


	2. Madwoman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mira is a Seer, she joins the Inquisition.
> 
> Or, how I can't help but come up with ridiculously Mary Sue-ish OCs. Sorry-not-sorry.

The small woman comes out of nowhere.

She's a mumbling mess of rags and fire and sparks, and she stumbles into the path of the Inquisitor with purpose, bringing up a wall of fire just as demons suddenly rise from the path ahead of the group.

"Kill the Inquisitor!" The raglady speaks simultaneously with the shout of the Venatori mage. She turns toward them, deftly ducking the Iron Bull's axe and casts a barrier over Dorian as she continues narrating the shouted commands on the other side of the firewall.

"Take out the Altus! Watch out for the necromancer! Traitor!" Her voice is soft but powerful, her inflection imitates the original emotions behind the words, yet her face is blank and empty.

Cole flickers into view behind her, still holding his daggers, he touches the woman's shoulder with his fingertips. The girl moves and smiles. "Compassion!" Then her eyes seem to glaze over and she's stepping to a wicked rhythm, faster than anything they've seen before.

And they're off.

The Iron Bull wrote her off as an enemy as soon as she cast the barrier on Dorian instead of retaliating his blow. The Inquisitor and Dorian are back to back now, throwing their spells. Cole flickers in and out of view, his blades like lightning as he cuts down the Venatori agents.

The girl is fast and fluid and always in the right place to keep the group safe from demons and Venatori alike.

The firewall burns down and there's a sudden quiet. Five Tevinter cultist lie dead on the ground. The ragged, tiny woman is crouched over one, rummaging and freeing an amulet with a delighted shriek.

She rises and blindly sidesteps the Inquisitor's spell, that was meant to freeze her in place.

"Rude!" She admonishes and finally looks up, cocking her head to one side and her eyes shine with a mad light that promises danger.

"Who are you?" The Inquisitor lowers her staff and asks.

"Madness and dreams, future and past and present. Everything flows by too quickly. I need this, this and this. One step faster, one step farther, on the left the dagger slides but it'll never reach. I'll protect them from what I can see." Cole speaks as he appears beside the girl, and the girl had been moving to lay her cheek against his shoulder before he even appeared.

"What he said," she says simply and giggles.

"She is a Seer," Cole explains.

And with that, her too bright eyes slide closed and a strip of cloth is produced from the many folds of the skirts and she slides it over her eyes with practiced move and easily knots the fabric tight against the back of her head.

Blinded to lock away the brunt of her powers. Her stomach rumbles audibly and she actually blushes.

"Well," the Inquisitor says after a long minute of tense silence. "Welcome to the Inquisition, I guess, lady..."

"Mirage,” the girl says quickly, “But just Mira is fine," and her whole demeanour is changed. She's shy and awkward and hesitant. And afraid, Bull realises. He catches half a dozen aborted attempts of her hand twitching to rise and remove her blindfold. But she stays her hands and trusts. The Iron Bull silently vows to himself not to let that trust be betrayed.

"You managed the second flashiest entrance of the entire Inquisition, Mira," the Inquisitor chuckles. "I'm afraid falling out of the Fade still trumps you."

Mira's light laughter is a balm to frayed nerves.

 

***

 

They bring her back to Skyhold with them. Leliana's suspicious and violent. Mira keeps her blindfold off around the Spymaster and ducks her before the bard moves. Then it takes only a few whispered words, more evading of sharp daggers and a truce is struck. Not in small part of the Inquisitor putting her foot down over the matter.

 

***

 

Mira roams.

She has the unnerving habit of settling near a member of the inner circle and, with her blindfold off, she watches. With the cloth over her eyes, she's just a girl. Doesn't seem like it hinders her movements at all. Solas determines that the ragged cloth is enchanted and lets the girl see in a manner of speaking while it lessens her true Sight.

So she roams and watches in alternating cycles. She freaks out Sera regularly and spends most of her evenings with the minstrel in the Herald's rest, singing along.

She watches Solas paint and study and do research. She watches the Chargers train and her hand twitches sometimes as she anticipates fists landing, swords striking true and arrows finding their target.

 

***

 

She turns up at the office of Commander Cullen when his withdrawals are the worst. She catches the lyrium kit the ex-Templar sent flying in frustration before it can strike the startled Inquisitor.

The Commander is horrified, the Inquisitor is adamant that he does not resume taking lyrium. There is a soft easing of tension in Mira that the Inquisitor would've have caught if she didn't get used to keeping half an eye on the strange girl.

"I brought tea," Mira says simply and the two leaders of the Inquisition found themselves dumbstruck. "It'll help," she shrugs. The Inquisitor nods and coerces a promise from Cullen to keep strong before she leaves.

Mira stares after her even through the closed door.

"She worries. Strong for more than herself, but she can't take all the pain onto herself. She wishes she could give more, but her heart is for another." She turns to the stunned Commander. "She cares for you as she cares for all her friends. With the passion of a Keeper. She would've made a good Keeper..." She adds wistfully as she places the mug of steaming drink on Cullen's desk.

"Maker's breath, you sound like Cole. I thought you were..." Cullen says.

"Human? I am." Mira cuts in and only after the tiniest hesitation she fishes her blindfold out of her pocket to tie it over hear eyes.

Cullen sees her grow tense, sees the effort it took to lock away her talents. For his sake, he realizes. He reaches out to touch her arm gently, in thanks, and she raises her hand to meet his.

"It's hard, isn't it?" He asks softly. He can still feel himself shaking.

"Not in the way you think," Mira says. "It tires me, the longer I watch. But it's frightening not to be able to see. Like the future could sneak up on me and take everything precious." Her hand tightens on his and he sucks in a startled breath. "But when I watch, everything dissolves into a river of... happenings. Pawns and inevitability dance around death. It's a strange trance that I can never really set aside when my eyes are open."

"You have to lose yourself to be yourself."

It's her turn to startle. "Yes," she hisses and there's a subtle tremor in her hand before she lets go and takes the cup from the desk and offers it to Cullen.

"Drink and try to rest. You'll feel better by morning. I promise there won't be nightmares haunting your sleep tonight." And with that she leaves.

 

***

 

She's inexplicably there when Dorian and the Inquisitor come back from Redcliffe, a bottle of Antivan rum in one hand, a wondrous bottle of red wine in the other. She drinks with Dorian and lets him vent his frustration and renewed feeling of betrayal. And he does because he knows that she already knows, that she _understands_ , that she gets it.

He passes out with his head cradled in her lap, to the sound of a bittersweet lullaby he never heard before.

 

***

 

Tal-va- _fucking_ -shoth. The Iron Bull feels it settle over him like a heavy chain. They think he should feel freer. Without the restriction of the Qun, he should feel like a weight lifted. Or maybe he should feel adrift. But what he truly feels is a heavy dread.

"His chair is empty. Every time I enter the Herald's Rest, my eyes snag on the empty space where an awkward youth kept watch over a beautiful voiced minstrel."

He didn't see her enter his room. He stares at her eyes; they're a deep emerald, with a feverish shine.

" _'Strong arms, a beautiful voice, father wanted me happy.'_ A future snatched away." She's looking at him as she speaks, but he knows that it's not him she sees with those bright eyes.

" _'Copper on the lips. Dalish lies dead-eyed beside me. He'll come, he'll call, he won't leave us. Horns pointing up.'_ " Her words come faster. The Iron Bull is locked in place by them.

"Is it worth one man's suffering for the sake of many? But that one life would get sucked away too. _'He didn't hurt, I would've heard it.'_ And thus the Iron Bull is truly dead as Hissrad's lifeless body falls." She's shaking now. "How could he? I didn't know, I trusted him.... _Katoh. **Katoh!**_ "

It's those last words that send Bull into motion and he catches the girl just as her legs give out from under her. He cradles her with one huge arm. His other hand covers her eyes. "Stop," he says hoarsely. She chuckles breathlessly and her trembling fingers grope for her blindfold. He helps knotting it into place. When it's tied she sighs in relief.

"I'm glad you're Tal-Vashoth. I'm sorry, but I'm not sorry." Her voice is gentler, quieter now. Barely above an exhausted whisper. He hadn't noticed how different she sounds when she's not watching.

"Thank you."

They spend the night in a tight bundle of warmth.

 


	3. Lazarus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've no idea why I gave this the title of 'Lazarus'. Maybe I'll continue the story once I've figured it out...

There shouldn't have been anyone left.

All of the people, who had been experimented on with red lyrium, were dead. The Venatori had been mining their bodies, like Evelyn saw they would, in the Dark Future. The Inquisition managed to rescue a dozen or so men and women, who were to be the next batch of test subjects.

But there shouldn't have been anybody else.

Except there was.

"Lady Inquisitor," one of her soldiers ran up to Evelyn. "We've found a secret passage in the dungeons, it seems to be leading to a heavily warded room," he reported.

"Dorian, Bull, Varric" she called, before directing the soldier to lead the way.

"We're right behind you, Eve," Dorian said. Evelyn didn't need to look back to know that they would follow.

The soldier led them down to the dungeons and past an archway, that hadn't been there before. Eve could see the remains of the forcefully opened section of wall piled to the side.

"We could only approach this far, but we heard somebody's voice down there. Lisbeth has called out, but no one answered," the soldier said.

And true to his word, as Evelyn stopped at the edge of the wards, she could sense from back at the archway, there was a sound much like... singing?

She looked back at Dorian and the man nodded in the affirmative. They had this down to an art form by now, breaking barriers with their combined magic. And while this particular barrier gave them a bit of pause, it crumbled soon enough.

Evelyn approached the only door at the end of the corridor carefully. The singing became more distinct and she could even make out the words. It way beautiful.

_I am the one..._

She checked the door, it was locked. She called for Varric, to pick the lock.

"I have a bad feeling about this, boss," said the Iron Bull.

"Just keep your guard up," Evelyn said.

The heavy, reinforced door opened with a soft click and swung inward on silent hinges.

"Oh! Visitors!" The occupant of the room squealed, turning to greet them with a wide smile.

She was a small thing. A young girl, dressed in only bloodied rags, with her long, dark hair twisted into a messy, dirty braid. Her face and hands, and any visible patch of skin, was covered in cuts and bruises, some of them still bleeding. Her fingernails looked ragged. She was barefoot and her feet, while being in much the same condition, were also covered in soot.

And she was holding a huge vial of liquid red lyrium.

"Wait a second," she said, halting in her stride toward the stunned Inquisitor and her party. "You're not visitors, are you?" The girl asked, her eyes, smudged with dark circle of exhaustion, narrowing.

"I am Inquisitor Evelyn Trevelyan," Eve said calmly, gently, as if talking to a frightened animal. "We're here to rescue you."

"Rescue?" the girl cocked her head to one side, reinforcing the image of a small animal. "Is it that time yet? I didn't even notice." She grinned and moved too quickly for Eve to stop her.

The Inquisitor watched in horror, as the girl downed the vial of red lyrium in a couple of big swallows.

"No!" Eve cried out too late, and moved into the room to take the glass vial from the girl.

"Woah," the strange girl danced away from the advancing woman. "No taking my lyrium! I need it for..." She hiccuped and her eyes glazed over. "Mnnevermind..." she drawled before collapsing into Eve's arms.

 

***

 

They took her back to Skyhold, of course.

She was still alive, and even during the week-long journey, didn't display any ill effects from having drunk such a great quantity of red lyrium. She didn't wake either.

 


	4. DAO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A try at an Origins self-insert.

It was raining.

A thunderstorm had rolled in, quiet and unnoticed, until, with a loud band of lightning, rain started pouring from the heavens.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," I was swearing constantly as I was trying to out run the endless waters to my college dorm. The forecast hadn't mentioned a storm that night and I had the now regrettable idea of a late night stroll down to the beach.

I sat my mp3-player to my running playlist and lagged it. The music was drowned out, even at the loudest setting, by the pouring rain and the constant lightning. I liked storms just fine, but preferred to watch them through a window, from the inside of a nicely warmed room, all cozy with tea or coffee, blankets and a good book.

Like that, with the lights down low and the lightning illuminating my room in bright flashes, it was actually one of my favourite things. Being outside in the storm really wasn't.

A lightning struck one of the nearby trees, arching over to the streetlamp and blowing the whole streets light.

"FUCK!!" I screamed. I've never been this close to a lightning strike before. The closest was when a strike cut one of our cherry trees in half at my grandparents place. But that was on the other side of the garden. This was only a few yards away.

I had stopped in my tracks and was blinking the afterimage out of my eyes. It took me a few stunned moments to realize that I was now stranded in the complete dark, with the street lights short-circuited. What was I to do now?

I couldn't see past my nose, and I didn't have anything to use as a flashlight except my phone, and that wouldn’t last long in this downpour. I looked around desperately in the dark. The next flash of lightning lit up my environment as bright as day and, disappointingly, revealed no place I could take shelter under.

It was either the forest, or staying still in the middle of the rain. I guessed, since I was already soaked to the bone, I just had to wait for the storm to pass. I wasn't going to risk the forest, that was damned sure.

Another lightning and I was tempted to risk the road blindly. Just go by the afterimages the bright flashes of light left. It still sounded better than staying still. And risking a lightning bolt in the ass. I was even up for crawling on hands and knees by then. How could it become so dark? It was night, sure, and the lights blew... and it was cloudy... _fuck_.

'Alive' by Sia came up on my mp3-player and I stifled a hysterical giggle. Yeah, I'm alive. For now. This was the scariest experience of my life, but I was alive. So I sang full power into the storm, the wind snatching my voice away, the rain draining out all other sound.

Another lightning with a loud boom and suddenly the ground gave way under my feet. I slid and dropped several feet, before landing hard and rolling on downhill. A landslide? Right under my freaking feet? Was fate serious?!?

I came to a sudden, painful stop against a tree trunk. I coughed and spluttered muddy water. Somewhere halfway down the slope, I lost my earphones. I coughed some more and spit grainy saliva onto the ground next to me.

Fuck this! I was calling for help. Even if my phone died 5 seconds after I made the call. It was worth not dying. I fished out my ancient Galaxy S3 from the tight front pocket of my jeans, and grinned when its always-too-bright-at-night screen greeted me with a fanpic of ModernAU!Solas holding two cups of coffee.

I scrambled to quick-dial for emergency services and was leaving muddy smears all over the screen as I tried to navigate the menu as quickly as possible. Then came a loud growl from my left and I froze.

That. Did not. Sound good.

Or human.

Or any animal I've ever heard growling before.

I thought they didn't have wolves in this forest.

As a clichéd horror movie move, I turned slowly toward the direction the sound was coming from, only to find myself facing off with a...

No.

That was impossible.

HOW?!?!?

I was sitting on my haunches, brightly lit phone in one hand, twisted around, to find myself eye to glowing eyes with a Blight Wolf.

Yes, a Blight Wolf.

There was no mistake about that.

Even in the dark, with only the light of my phone's screen, there was no mistaking a wolf, the size of a bear, with gleaming red crystals embedded in its hide all over its body. And it was displaying an admirable set of sharp fangs.

"…fuck…," I whimpered, before the wolf sprang at me.

I dropped and rolled, my survival instinct turning itself up to eleven. I heard a sharp clack of its teeth as it barely missed my neck. I could feel the heat of its body before I rolled further away and tried to scramble to my feet. I managed, somehow, against rain-slicked, muddy earth to get up and I ran. I ran like I've never run before. I ran for my life.

I could hear the beast, scrambling just as hard on the slippery ground, and trying to follow me. It must've been able to actually see in the complete darkness. I sure couldn't. I was just thinking that 'oh, the rain must've stopped, since I could hear our footsteps now', when I ran head first into a tree.

My last thought was that this must've looked really funny for someone. I lost consciousness before my body hit the wet earth.

 

***

 

There was a commotion.

With an aching head and throbbing forehead, I wondered why they had to be so loud.

Couldn't they argue more quietly?

"Shuddafuckup..." I mumbled. To my relief, they instantly did. Before they started speaking again.

"She's awake!" A man cried out way too loud.

"Isaidshuddafuckup!" I put some more volume behind the order, but it still came out barely audible.

"Easy now," another man said. Something cool was pressed lightly against my forehead and I sighed in relief. That was nice. Sticky, but nice. "Alistair, could you get Morrigan, please?"

"But you know she hates me!" the first man whined.

"Please, Alistair," the second said.

"Fine, fine," the first man, called Alistair said. I heard retreating footsteps and sighed in relief. That guy was loud.

Wait.

'Alistair' and 'Morrigan'?

No.

The memories of the stormy night came rushing back and I sat up with a shout.

"BLIGHT WOLF!"

I looked around frantically, twisting out of restricting hands on my arms.

"Calm down, you need to calm down..." the second man said.

I stared at him, gasping for air, trying to rationalize what I was seeing.

What I was seeing was a campsite. Two tents. A mabari warhound sitting at attention and trying to make itself somehow look like a cute puppy. A tall man, dressed in blue-accented armor, holding up both hands to reassure me that he meant no harm. Wearing a huge greatsword. And daggers at his hips.

"See, I told you, she wouldn't come if I went to get her," came the first man's voice from behind me and I whirled around, half crouched.

Tall. Taller than the man in blue. Wider too, strongly built. In heavier armor. Shield on his back, sword at his hip. Blond and young and... No. Nope. _This was not possible_.

"Nope," I shook my head frantically. "No. Just... nope, I'm out."

I was on my feet the next moment and was ready to run.

Unfortunately, the mabari got to me before I could clear the campsite. He knocked me to the ground and proceeded to sit on me to prevent me from running again.

"Barkspawn!" I heard the Warden shouting, and running after his dog.

"Barkspawn?" I sputtered between gasps for air. "Seriously?!?! Et tu, Dog?"

The mabari whined and shifted, so he wasn't crushing me completely anymore. As if he understood every word I've said. Even the ones in Latin.

"Are you alright?" The Warden asked as he crouched next to us.

"Yeah... no, not really," I panted. Barkspawn was _heavy_. "Could you get him off me?" He disregarded my request.

"Why did you run?" he asked instead.

"Because this is all impossible and I wanna go home," I said truthfully.

"What is impossible?" the Warden asked, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.

"You, Alistair, _Barkspawn_ ," I listed. "The fact that I met a Blight Wolf in the forest next to my dorm. The fact that I can guess the year, know about recent events and future events here and there leading up to 13 years from now." I shrugged. Or tried to. "Impossible. Maybe if I run fast enough, I'll get back home.

The Warden regarded me silently for what felt like ages.

"Get him off, please. He's heavy," I whimpered.

"Prove your claims first," the Warden said.

"Okay, okay. You're Aiden Cousland, right? Youngest son, whole family murdered by Arl Howe," I said. His eyes widened. It was enough confirmation for me.

"Right, then Duncan saved you and made you join the Grey Wardens. Unfortunately, after losing at the battle of Ostagar, he and the other Grey Wardens in Ferelden, except Alistair of course, died. And the king too.

"Now onto stuff you most likely don't know yet, if you only have Alistair and Morrigan as your companions yet. Loghain has closed the borders, so help is not comming. He has a bounty on your heads. Kinloch Hold has been overrun by bloodmages, the Arl of Redcliffe has been poisoned, the dwarves are kingless and in a tizzy about it, the Dalish elves are fighting a curse of werewolves, badly. Oh, and your brother, F... something... Fre... no... Fergus! Yes. He's alive."

It was that last part that got Aiden moving. He got Barkspawn off me with a gesture and was hauling me to my feet the next moment. I stumbled, but was quickly steadied by his iron grip on my arms.

"Where is he?!" The Warden shook me. I noticed tears gleaming in the corner of his dark eyes. "Where's Fergus?"

"I don't know..." I tried to shrug. "I'm not some sort of clairvoyant. He was out on some scouting mission and got ambushed by Darkspawn. If I remember right, he got rescued and is being healed by some Chasind. He's safe."

The Warden let go of me just as suddenly and sighed, turning his face up to the sky with a huge grin.

"Thank the Maker."

I started at him. I was still unsteady on my feet, but looking up at him filled me with a kind of warmth I've never felt before.

"You believe her?" Alistair asked, walking up to us. "She's just spouting nonsense!"

"Should I tell your secret?" I asked him sharply.

He blanched and stammered.

The Warden turned sharply to Alistair.

"What kind of secret?" He asked with narrowing eyes.

"Oh, just that he’s never licked a lamppost in winter before," I said with a causal shrug.

Alistair made an aborted attempt to stop me from talking, but as soon as he realized what I actually said, he looked relieved for a moment, before turning bright red.

"What?" The Warden asked, confused.

"Th-tha-that's..." Alistair stammered.

"That is a very curious fact," I heard a female voice declare. I turned, only to find Morrigan sidling up to our little gathering, with all the poise of a witch of the wilds.

She was taller than me, but only by a little. I was getting used to being the shortest of the group. Well, except for Barkspawn, but he still came up to my waist.

Morrigan was also very, very beautiful, in that wild kind of way. Her black hair was piled in a messy bun and secured with leather ties. He yellow eyes, just like a cat's, flashed sharply as she was looking me over in turn. Her clothes looked marginally more suitable for travel and less unreasonably provocative than I remembered from the game.

And the staff she carried was bound with crystals, the likes of which I've never seen before.

"Morrigan," I breathed.

"And you even know my name," she said. "I wonder if you could tell my secrets too?"

I stared, terrified. I didn't know anything about Morrigan that could help me convince her that I wasn't lying through my teeth. And I didn't want to be turned into a toad. Oh, wait...

"I..." My voice cracked and I had to swallow before trying to speak again. "I know that your mother is Flemeth, and that she had been keeping the Grey Warden treaties safe. That she rescued Aidan and Alistair..."

"That's very nice, but none of it is about me..." she cut in, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You once stole a pretty mirror from a village and when your mother found out, she broke it," I said quickly.

That made her pause. As she regarded me coolly, and with her gaze narrowed, she reminded me of Madame Vivienne. That's why she will be so good in The Game, that she gets in the confidence of the Empress herself, I thought. She's scary-graceful already.

"So," she said finally. "The only question that remains is how did you end up here?"

I felt two more gazes join in looking at me.

"I... I don't know..." I sputtered. "There was... a storm... and I fell... and..." I shivered. "I was attacked by a Blight Wolf. But I managed to run away... straight into a tree..." I finished lamely, with a shaky hand going to my forehead. There was a piece of cloth secured to it, and I poked at it with renewed interest. A health poultice?

Oh, Origins... All salves, no potions...

Alistair giggled, honest to goodness _giggled_ , at my words.

"I did that once when I was training with the Templars..." he began, but stopped short when Morrigan leveled a less-than-impressed gaze at him.

"What's your name then?" Morrigan turned back to me.

"I'm Lisa... nice to meet you?" I didn't really mean to make that sound like a question, but she still gave me the chills.

"Well, Lisa," Morrigan said. "I am called Morrigan. This lug here is Alistair. And this is our Warden, formerly known as Aiden Cousland. As you well know..."

I nodded to both men in turn.

"Ni-nice to meet you..." I stammered. "Can I please go home now?"

"That depends," Aiden said with a gentle smile. "If you're from Lothering, we're heading that way right now."

I felt like my blood was turning to ice.

"I'm not... from... around here..." I managed to squeeze out.

"Oh," Aiden's smile faltered a bit. "Were you on some kind of journey? You certainly look dressed for a... trip." He added hesitantly.

I looked down at myself. My hoodie was smeared with enough mud, it looked more brown than the light grey color it was originally. My jeans were in the same shape, with the added bonus of some tears and scrapes. My trainers were soaked through, like most of the rest of my clothes. I looked like shit, but wasn't immediately obviously _foreign_ shit.

I quickly dug into my pockets. My phone was gone. So was my mp3-player. I found my earphones tangled in the inside of my hoodie. My ID was still stuffed snuggly in the back pocket of my jeans. I pulled it out and showed it to Aiden.

"Ever heard of a place called Redwood Grove?" I asked motioning at the address line on my student ID.

He stared at the plastic card like I've produced magic out of nowhere. It only occurred to me then, that they might gloss over my clothes and an out of service pair of earphones, but presenting an ID was not as easily overlooked.

"What languages is that?" Aiden asked after a long moment.

"What language?" I asked, confused. "It's English... I mean Common. The King's tongue... Trade... oh, wait..."

I remembered what few texts I've seen of written Trade and realized that I should be grateful we even understood each other. English might've been the same as spoken Common, but it sure was different in writing.

I felt my limbs go weak and Aiden had to catch me by the arms again, as my legs threatened to give out.

"I'm really here, aren’t I?" I asked in a faint voice. "I'm really in Thedas. In the middle of the Fifth Blight..." I hiccuped. "I'm so dead..."


End file.
